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VOA慢速英语 EXPLORATIONS - Risk of Crossed Paths Grows in Increa

时间:2009-05-03 01:13:26

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(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. This week, we tell about a growing threat to airplanes around the world. And we hear about objects in space that are threatening satellites and the International Space Station.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

On January fifteenth, US Airways1 flight fifteen forty-nine was leaving La Guardia airport near New York City. Everything seemed normal and the weather was good that day. But as the passenger jet climbed to about nine hundred meters in the air, something happened.
 
A crane removes the US Airways plane from the Hudson River in January

Captain Chesley Sullenberger reported that both of his plane’s engines had struck birds. The engines soon lost all power. The plane was unable to return to the airport. So Captain Sullenberger made a quick decision to land the plane on the freezing water of the nearby Hudson River. The emergency landing was performed perfectly2.

Captain Sullenberger’s actions saved the lives of one hundred fifty-five passengers and crew.But the incident brought attention to a real and growing threat to air safety.

VOICE TWO:

Bird strikes happen all over the world. And they are not rare. Bird Strike Committee USA gathers information about such incidents in the United States and around the world. The group is a volunteer committee. It includes members from the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Agriculture, Defense3 Department and the aviation industry.

Bird Strike Committee USA says bird strikes cause about six hundred million dollars in damage to American civilian4 and military aviation each year. The group says fifty-six thousand incidents were reported to the F.A.A. between nineteen ninety and two thousand four. More than seven thousand six hundred bird and other wildlife strikes were reported for civilian aircraft in two thousand seven.

But studies show only about twenty percent of bird strikes to civilian aircraft are reported. These incidents can be deadly. The organization says wildlife strikes have led to the deaths of two hundred nineteen people around the world since nineteen eighty-eight.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
 
A 1999 picture of a small plane in Atlantic City, New Jersey5, that was damaged by a bird

In the United States, aviation officials have taken measures to reduce the risk from bird strikes and dangers from other wildlife since the nineteen sixties.

Federal Aviation Administration rules require airports to study the risks of wildlife to safe airport operations. These studies must consider wildlife activity up to about three thousand meters above an airport and eight kilometers around it. They also must provide detailed6 information about nearby water and environmental issues that could cause wildlife to gather near an airport.

Michael O’Donnell is director of the F.A.A. Office of Airport Safety and Standards. He says there are about five hundred sixty commercial service airports in the United States. Not all airports need wildlife control plans. But the ones that do work closely with government agencies.The Department of Agriculture, for example, provides biologists to help study wildlife that could be a danger to air travel.

VOICE TWO:

The number of reported bird strikes has increased since nineteen ninety. One reason is that there are more birds. Protected species have reproduced in huge numbers. For example, permanent populations of Canada geese in North America have increased three hundred percent in eighteen years to four million birds.

Other birds have spread quickly across areas with heavy air traffic. The European starling was released for the first time in the United States over one hundred years ago. Today, there are more than one hundred fifty million of these birds. They are called “feathered bullets” because of their high body density7.

Another reason for the increase in bird strikes is the growing popularity of air travel in the United States. Since nineteen eighty, flights have increased by about two percent each year. In two thousand seven, the number reached twenty-eight million.

Airports have used many different methods to reduce the number of birds and other wildlife nearby. These include lasers, noise makers8 and, when necessary, killing9 problem animals.

VOICE ONE:
 
A plane in Medford, Oregon, that was damaged by a bird strike in 2003

The F.A.A. is also seeking ways to help planes avoid birds. Since the emergency landing of flight fifteen forty-nine, special radars11 have received a lot of attention. The air travel agency is currently testing a radar10 system at the international airport in Seattle, Washington. The F.A.A. plans to test new radar systems at airports in Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; and New York City.

Michael O’Donnell says the F.A.A. is spending between seven hundred fifty thousand and one million dollars a year on radar research.

The United States space agency already uses an Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The radar is built by the company DeTect of Panama City, Florida. It was put in place to help protect the space shuttle from bird strike damage. And the Air Force currently uses radar developed by DeTect at several bases.

Technology also has a part in the growing threat from birds. Today’s large passenger planes have fewer but more powerful engines than older models. That means it is easier for planes with only two engines to strike a flock of birds and lose power in both engines.

But Michael O’Donnell says the number of serious bird strike incidents has remained at or below two hundred each year. He credits this to better education and knowledge about the issue.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

From bird strikes, we turn to another kind of threat caused by objects in space. The number of man-made objects in Earth orbit has been growing each year. These include satellites, old rocket parts and other pieces of spacecraft.

Nicholas Johnson is chief scientist for orbital debris12 for the United States space agency. He says there are more than three hundred thousand small objects or pieces of debris in orbit that are larger than one centimeter. Any one of these could cause damage to a spacecraft. This is because orbital debris travels at speeds of thirty-two thousand kilometers an hour or more. Even a very small object can be a major threat.

VOICE ONE:
 
A space shuttle window is inspected for damage by orbital debris

Space debris made news on March twelfth when a part of an old rocket motor about ten centimeters in size threatened the International Space Station. NASA warned the three astronauts inside about one hour before the object was to reach the area of the station.

Americans Mike Fincke and Sandra Magnus and Russian Yury Lonchakov quickly moved into the Soyuz emergency escape vehicle as a safety measure. They spent eleven tense minutes in the capsule.

It is unclear how close the object came to the station. But the piece was big enough to have caused severe damage. On March twenty-second, NASA again ordered the astronauts on the linked space station and shuttle Discovery to move out of the way of another piece of debris from a rocket.

The space station has been hit in the past by very small debris. But these strikes caused little damage, mostly to the station’s solar energy collectors.

VOICE TWO:

A more costly13 incident took place on February tenth. An old Russian military satellite and a United States communications satellite crashed into each other eight hundred kilometers above Siberia in Russia.

Russia had launched the Kosmos satellite in nineteen ninety-three. But it had not operated for ten years. It was one of hundreds of inactive satellites that remain in orbit.

The American Iridium thirty-three satellite was used for telephone communications. It was owned by Iridium Satellite, a company based in Bethesda, Maryland. The company said the loss caused little interference with its service at the time. Before the collision, Iridium had a group of sixty-six satellites in orbit.

The United States Space Surveillance Network is closely studying the collision involving the Russian satellite. The agency is part of United States Central Command. It follows over eighteen thousand pieces of debris as small as the size of a baseball.

VOICE ONE:
 
A computer image from the European Space Agency shows an artist's version of orbital debris above Earth

The collision of the Russian and American satellites was the first of its kind in over fifty years of space travel. It spread hundreds of pieces of debris.

But the biggest debris-causing event took place in January, two thousand seven. China tested an anti-satellite missile by destroying one of its weather satellites. The test broke the satellite apart into at least two thousand eight hundred identifiable pieces. The debris now circles the Earth in orbits from two hundred kilometers to over three thousand eight hundred kilometers.

Currently, there is no treaty to control the spread of space debris. Scientists have proposed many ideas for cleaning up space. They include nets, giant collecting arms and powerful laser beams that would move or destroy space junk. But for now, these are just ideas. And, as more nations launch spacecraft, the risk of debris strikes will only grow.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember.Transcripts14, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 AIRWAYS 5a794ea66d6229951550b106ef7caa7a     
航空公司
参考例句:
  • The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
  • At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。
2 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
3 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
4 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
5 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
6 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
7 density rOdzZ     
n.密集,密度,浓度
参考例句:
  • The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
  • The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。
8 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
10 radar kTUxx     
n.雷达,无线电探测器
参考例句:
  • They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
  • Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。
11 radars 212ddaf50f2120c20d54e2fe75424614     
n.雷达( radar的名词复数 );雷达装置
参考例句:
  • Servos for large radars and launchers are either electro-hydraulic or all-electric. 大型雷达和发射装置的伺服系统,不是电动-液压式的,就是全电动式的。 来自辞典例句
  • Range-velocity simultaneous pull-off is one of effective measures for countering PD radars. 距离-速度同步拖引干扰是对抗PD雷达的有效方法。 来自互联网
12 debris debris     
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
参考例句:
  • After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
  • Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上,导致蛀牙。
13 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
14 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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